The Bellwood Elk

Defense Supply Center Richmond 

8000 Jefferson Davis Highway 

Richmond, Va. 23297

DLA Aviation

Public Affairs Office (804)279-3139
T he Bellwood elk are well known throughout the 

Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, and 

around the nation. They are often the first feature visitors 

ask to see. The elk are a living link to historic Bellwood Farms and 

show the post’s commitment to retaining the cultural, historic and 

environmental landscape. 

James Bellwood was the last private owner of the land that 

Defense Supply Center Richmond occupies. Bellwood was a highly 

respected and successful farmer. 

He was also an animal enthusiast, 

so he set aside acreage on his 

property for a wooded park where 

deer, rabbits, and other wildlife 

could live and roam freely. 

Around 1900, Bellwood imported 

a pair of elk from Yosemite National 

Park and Washington State to start 

a herd on his land. According to 

newspaper and magazine articles 

of the time, the elk became an 

immediate hit with both the family and the community. With plenty 

of forage and room to graze, the herd multiplied to more than 20 

during the time Bellwood owned the land. On weekends, hundreds 

of visitors would 

take the RichmondPetersburg trolley 

to picnic and enjoy 

Bellwood’s animal 

park. 

After Mr. 

Bellwood’s death, 

his family decided 

to sell the land; 

Mr. James Bellwood

Richmond trolley
however, they were concerned about the future of their father’s 

beloved elk. The Army was interested in buying the property, so 

the Bellwood family agreed to the sale on the condition that the 

Army would continue to keep the elk on the property and provide 

for their care. The officer 

negotiating the land sale 

for the War Department 

was sensitive to their 

concerns. A handshake 

completed the deal and 

the Army purchased 647 

acres in 1941 and built a 

supply depot. 

During World War II, 

the elk grazed on grass 

growing in the open 

pasture set aside for them near 

the southern boundary of the installation along Kingsland Creek. 

In the winters, their diet was supplemented with forage purchased 

for the Army horses used by the installation’s mounted security 

force. As horses were phased out of the service, the post was faced 

with the quandary of 

how to feed the elk. 

Some consideration 

was given to donating 

the herd to the state 

or to a conservation 

agency, but the Army 

insisted on honoring 

its commitment, 

despite having no 

appropriated funds 

allocated for the elk’s 

care and upkeep.

Over the years, 

efforts to feed the elk 

were also supported 

by donations from 

employees, through an 

annual fund drive by the Elk 

Relief Association, called the 

Elk’s Bawl. This practice was 

discontinued in 1972 due 

to Army regulations against 

solicitations. In that year, funds 

were donated by employees 

through the use of jars placed 

around the post. In 1975, the 

Officers’ Wives’ Club took 

over the fundraising; a 1980 

article in the post’s Elkhorn 

newspaper announced a 

bakeoff to raise money for 

the herd. A few years later, 

a Wildlife Management 

Council was established 

1942 image of construction on the Depot

Fort Lee Traveler, November 1966
and a facilities engineer was assigned as the installation’s wildlife 

conservation officer. In past years, the elk were cared for through an 

Elk Feed Fund Council, with money for their care coming from the 

proceeds of recycling, private and civic organization donations, and 

the occasional sale of one of the animals. 

As proceeds for aluminum recycling decreased through 

the years, 

Defense Logistics 

Agency’s Office of 

General Counsel 

reviewed historical 

documentation of the 

sale of the land and 

agreement to care 

for the elk. In 2013, 

Counsel determined 

appropriate funds 

could be used to care 

for the elk. Today, 

management and 

care of the elk is overseen by Defense Logistics Agency Installation 

Support at Richmond. Through the years the Bellwood Elk Herd 

has been an important part of the installation’s culture and a source 

of great pride among the workforce as the Department of Defense 

continues to honor the original agreement made with the Bellwood 

Family. 

The elk live in 

a 25-acre fenced 

preserve, with 

vegetation consisting 

of low grasses and a 

dense stand of oak 

trees. Although the 

Bellwood elk live near 

people, they are still 

wild animals and are 

not handled unless 

they are being treated 

by a veterinarian. 

Elk Horn story, a center publication for many years, from 

1968 about reducing the herd size on center.
Employees who feed the elk have no direct contact with the 

animals. The elk remain wild creatures and those who work around 

them respect that. Elk are predominantly grazers and eat grass 

and alfalfa hay. They also eat grains, such as corn and oats. During 

morning feedings the elk cows greet the people feeding them with 

high pitched screams, while 

the bulls joust for a prime 

spot at the feed bin. The 

feeding is done from inside 

the barn, with grain dumped 

into a feed shoot and hay slid 

into the rack.

A veterinarian keeps 

inoculations up to date on the 

herd and ensures each animal 

is registered with an ear tag, 

as required by the state. In 

order to treat the elk, the 

veterinarian must put them 

to sleep with a tranquilizer 

shot from a special gun. Elk 

are hardy creatures, with a 

natural immunity to most 

diseases. Tuberculosis, or TB, has been found in some domestic elk 

herds, so the Bellwood elk are tested and vaccinated to eliminate 

the disease. 

Elk are curious animals and sometimes get themselves into 

trouble. A bull named Junior had a reputation of being overly 

curious. His care takers say Junior once got his head stuck inside a 

red feed bucket and couldn’t get it off. The veterinarian had to pay 

a visit, tranquilize him and pry it off. An observer said the bucket 

was on so tight that the poor elk looked cross-eyed. On another 

occasion Junior got fabric tangled on his antlers and ran through 

the field with a banner streaming behind him. Then there’s the 

case of the elk that did battle with a barbed wire fence; he ended 

up tangling the wire on his antlers so badly that the vet had to be 

called in. Another bull attacked a tractor left in its pasture while the 

crew took a lunch break, puncturing the radiator and doors. 

The elk captured the attention of people across the country in 

1953 when the Saturday Evening Post magazine ran a story about 

“The Elk that Joined the Army.” The post’s archives contain letters 

between the commander and Arthur Godfrey, a famous radio and 

television personality of the time. In 1950, Godfrey adopted several 

Bellwood elk and moved them to his farm in Leesburg, Virginia. 

Situation reports, prepared by military duty officers during the 

post’s first two decades, include items on elk escapes, battles 

and deaths. The post’s newspapers are filled with stories on elk 

births, naming competitions and fundraising efforts. The 

elk are also featured in holiday artwork, comics 

and instruction materials. Local newspapers, 
including the 

Independent Virginian, 

Richmond News 

Leader, Times Dispatch 

and Fort Lee Traveler, 

have stories about the 

elk. 

A story in the 

June 23, 1955, Times 

Dispatch newspaper 

highlighted a calf 

naming contest on 

post. The winning name 

was Jeribell, which turned problematic when the calf turned out 

to be a bull. The prize winner received $10. The elk herd lineage 

is annotated in documents noting births and deaths from illness, 

old age and battle wounds. Letters discussing trades 

of elk to and from local nature 

parks. Records track the names of 

reigning bulls, including Big Sam, 

Big Tree, Jerry, Jeribell, Elmo, 

and Junior. 

Male elk are called bulls, 

females are cows, and 

babies are calves. 

Bulls mature at age seven, 

weigh 800 to 1,100 pounds, and 

stand five to six feet tall at the shoulder. 

Cows mature at age three, weigh about 550 

pounds, and stand about four feet tall at the shoulder. 

Cows give birth after approximately 246 days. The calves are 

born in mid-May through July and spend the first week of their 

lives in tall grass, usually getting up only to nurse. Calves are born 

with spots and develop brown coats in six months. Cows are good 

mothers and keep watch on their calves from a short distance away 

and will protect their calves when they are threatened.

Only bulls grow antlers; the number of points is influenced by 

genetics, feed and age. They grow their first set at age one. Elk with 

six points on each antler are called Royal elk; seven point elk are 

Imperial; and those with eight points are Monarchs. Antlers fall off 

in March and re-grow every year. A mature bull’s antlers weigh 20 

to 30 pounds. As antlers grow, they are surrounded by a soft tissue 

called velvet. The bulls scrape the velvet off when the antlers stop 

growing. Bulls compete for dominance through powerful vocal calls 

or bugling, sparring, and chasing competitors away. 
 Saturday Evening Post article from April 18, 1953